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Art is a way of survival
Ferris Elementary and the City of Richmond, Emergency Programs have collaborated on an artist led initiative by local BC artist J Peachy to explore the question; how can an elementary school help prepare the large community for emergencies? Starting in February 2023 two grade 5/6 split classes will engage in the process of inquiry, hear…
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Indigenous view on resilience
On Thursday June 1 the entire school community was invited to assemble to witness the work that the division 5 & 6 created over the past few months, this included puppet creations, mapping ideas of how the school can be prepared for emergencies and a hazard guessing game. An Indigenous perspective on the topic of…
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Recording stories
On a small table top puppet theatre students presented their prepared stories for rehearsal and recording. Coordinating between reading and the movement of the puppets was a new experience and only with practice could the skill be refined. Below two puppets and two young voices read a script about the steps to preparedness. An original…
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Student story creation
Based on the field trip experiences, presentations the characters they created, the students began crafting their stories. The students demonstrated a sample story to showcase how the structure of their story could work. Utilizing a 9 square storyboard the students were to incorporate the following elements in their short story. 1. Where? (the scene, setting,…
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Cedar Learner Tables and Transformation
Students made drawings of their animal inspired puppets, a select number were voted on to be sketched wood burned on to Learner Tables made from Western Red Cedar. Although they may look like picnic tables, we called them Learner Tables, because it will give all the opportunity to learn, re-learn as well as unlearn; in…
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Puppet Master of Disaster Plays
The creative learners are additionally utilizing the Master of Disaster learning materials to gain factual information, inquire and discuss concepts in the formation of the student individual and group stories. Students were also divided into teams and to focus, reflect and share on the top 10 Hazards in BC. Locally, the City of Richmond suggests…
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Puppet construction, creation and identity
The students we challenged to create two puppets as part of the development of characters and eventually into stories. One puppet is connected to the earth and another one is an alien being. By selecting a creation from the earth connects to the land, and becomes a vehicle for inquiry on animal adaptability in nature.…
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Puppet skills and subtleties with Nina Vogel
Our classes got a special visit virtually from Brazil from renown puppeteer and performer Nina Vogel. Nina has a unique style of puppetry and performance which is different from typical North American hand puppets. In Nina’s workshop she showcased her puppet Puck as well as a small simple recycled cardboard flying house character. Nina emphasized…
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Prop making with Elise Roberts
Elise Roberts from Treasure Box Theatre and with the Elders Council for Parks shared with the classes in a virtual session some of her skills in prop making that accompany her puppet performances. As the students develop their own stories and projects, prop making is a helpful skill. Elise showed some of the various props…
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A Birds eye view, wooden bird craft project.
Our classes begun the creation of a wooden bird craft based on species identified at the Richmond Nature Park. By studying of colour of various birds we hoped to refine their visual senses by identifying the unique colours and incorporating them into their birds. Back in the classroom at Ferris Elementary and through the use…
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A natural look back in time
Our classes had a field trip to the Richmond Nature Park, where our host Erika talked about how the island of Richmond today was created, the importance of Spaghnum Moss, bog habitat, how climate change has changed the land significantly. We walked down the time trail and thought about the changing environment in the passage…